


If You Could Live Somewhere Different

by Lepidopteran (lepi)



Series: Earn Your Way Back [8]
Category: Transformers: Prime
Genre: Gen, Vigilantism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-12
Updated: 2015-05-12
Packaged: 2018-03-30 06:54:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3927097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lepi/pseuds/Lepidopteran
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Miko's not having too much fun back on Earth, but an unexpected request from an unexpected Autobot gets her off of the planet at last.</p>
            </blockquote>





	If You Could Live Somewhere Different

Life went on without the 'bots despite being severely underwhelming. Ratchet came back (then left again, then came back again) but he wasn't _Bulkhead_ , and he wouldn't help Miko sneak into concerts or monster truck rallies, and everything felt less fun without Bulk anyway. He called, sometimes, but he was busy, more busy than anyone else, apparently. Miko'd always known Bulkhead was special, right from the moment she laid eyes on him, but it turned out other people had finally figured it out, too. Bulkhead being in charge of construction and repairs for an entire planet put a serious dent in Miko's time with him.

She wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, but those first few months were really pathetic. Everything had been less fun, but it had been harder to sleep. She'd even considered talking to June about it maybe, on a _really_ bad day, but Miko knew adults. Just because June and Fowler knew about the 'bots didn't make them any less likely to advise her to do her homework and make something of herself.

The problem was that Miko had already made something of herself. She was a _Wrecker._ And she'd been left behind because she was a Wrecker who couldn't breathe in Cybertron's stupid atmosphere and because she had "parents" who might "worry." Miko had her suspicions about where that speech had come from, because Optimus had _listened_ until June and Fowler had started talking to him and making him into Ultra-Dad. What _was_ it with people thinking they knew what Miko wanted out of life better than she did? Ugh.

And none of the other 'bots called her, not even Wheeljack. She kept hanging out with Jack and Raf and Ratchet pretty regularly once she stopped feeling like she was going to die inside every time she stepped into a hangar that was too quiet, but even after that she had to fight the anger at Raf for having _two_ best 'bot friends and getting to keep one. So she knew what was up: she asked Ratchet for updates every time she came to visit, because her time with Bulk was too special to use up asking about other people. Ratchet even had pictures, sometimes; Miko was pretty bored by all the political talk about rebuilding governments that Jack ate up with a spoon, but some of the newcomers _did_ look pretty neat. And it turned out that there _were_ Autobots who could fly— "Isn't that, like, treason?" she asked Ratchet— but everyone had assumed they were dead for some reason.

So the point was that life went on, with Miko older and sadder and a _lot_ more bored, and she really wasn't expecting her first invitation to Cybertron to be from Arcee. Sure, they'd connected a little bit there, but Arcee was still _Jack's_ partner.

Still, given the choice between writing personal essays for American college applications that _couldn't be about how she helped win an intergalactic alien robot war_ — seriously, what was the point— and going to Cybertron to help with what Arcee said in a surprisingly cagey voice was "a personal project," Cybertron was going to win hands down every time.

And so Miko went to Cybertron.

* * *

"Wait, you mean we're not even going to land on Cybertron?" Miko demanded, feeling very betrayed by this whole trip already. "I've already _been_ in a spaceship. This one, in fact. I killed an Insecticon with it. I was promised new experiences _and also Cybertron_. You have someone else here. What do you even need me for?"

Said someone else was a bright orange and purple 'bot who actually looked kind of hideous. She looked at Miko kind of like Miko was a scraplet but also really cool. Miko was okay with that. She _should_ be feared by everyone. "I'm just here to pilot the ship," she said. "With a mission like this, you'll want the option of a fast getaway."

"Right," Arcee confirmed. "I needed a Wrecker for this. And that Wrecker needs to be human."

"Okay." Miko crossed her arms over her chest and looked between them. "I'm really flattered, but you still haven't told me what I'm doing here and _not on Cybertron._ "

Arcee grimaced. "I'm not even sure where to start," she admitted. "Did Ratchet tell you about Megatron and Soundwave?"

"Yeah, something about Megatron getting brought back from the dead by Unicron and then turning into an Autobot? It's really a shame about Soundwave, though, he would have looked great on my 'Con-killing résumé." She spread her arms out. "Hardshell and Soundwave. Underestimate _that_."

"…Right." Arcee shook her head. "Well, it turns out Airachnid and the Insecticons have taken up residence on Luna 2, thanks to Soundwave."

"Ooh, a showdown with your rival?" Miko bounced eagerly in her seat. "Let me guess: I'm here to take care of the Insecticons? Because you called the right person for the job."

But Arcee shook her head. "Actually, you're here because I need someone who doesn't have energon in their fuel lines," she said. She nodded to the Apex Armor. "We made a few modifications so that oxygen won't be a problem; same with the ship."

"Okay…" Miko frowned. "So why do you need someone without energon?"

"We," Arcee started, then sighed. She continued in the tones of someone who didn't expect to be believed, which Miko could have told her was a terrible strategy. The key to delivery was _belief._ "We have reason to suspect that some of the Insecticons may have been infected by a plague which reduces them to energon-hungry… terrorcons."

"Zombiecons?" Miko yelped. "I get to help fight zombiecons? For serious? I _love_ you, Arcee!" She pumped her fist in the air. "You're no Bulk, but you can be third on the list. You get to take Ultra Magnus' slot. He's kind of a killjoy, for a Wrecker."

"Thanks," Arcee said, her voice dry. "You're not even going to ask for the details, are you?"

"Are you kidding? That's like looking a gift horse in the mouth!" Miko turned to Lancer. "So, can we get there any faster? I need to kick zombiecon tailpipe as soon as possible!"

Before Lancer could say anything— or bow to Miko's demands, which she was _totally going to do_ judging by how round her optics were— Arcee interrupted. "Okay, you may not want to know, but you need to. There's only one life signal up there, so either they got infected by the plague and someone survived, or… they all went into stasis." Arcee held up a hand. "If they're in stasis, we go back to the ship, no questions asked. Okay? I need you to agree with me on this, Miko."

"Yeah, yeah," Miko said impatiently. "You sound like Optimus Prime. We'll go get backup, I get it."

"Right." Arcee looked at her for a moment longer, then shook her head. "Anyway, the plan is that I'm the bait. You get whoever's still up there while I distract them. _Unless_ it's a trap."

"I got it already. You don't have to treat me like a kid." Miko made her fingers hop around in demonstration. "You pull aggro, and I DPS. Except it's kind of weird since I should be the tank."

Honestly, she'd said it mostly to confuse the 'bots and get a little of her own back, and Arcee's completely befuddled expression didn't disappoint. Score one for the human. Miko grinned and went to the back of the ship to get into the Apex Armor. "After this, we're gonna go to Cybertron for real, right? You don't need to worry about anyone stopping you if you've already done it."

"Yes, after this, we can visit Cybertron," Arcee said.

Zombiecons _and_ Cybertron _and_ Bulkhead _and_ Miko got to be the secret weapon. She grinned and stepped onto the armor's pressure pad, feeling the familiar glorious weightless rush of being lifted up as the plates clicked into place around her. This was going to be the best vacation ever. Even though she still wouldn't have something to write her personal essay on.


End file.
